Safe to eat rabbit that cat caught?
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On my morning run I came across our neighbourhood rabbit. He looked a little nervous today, perhaps because I am going a little faster than I used to. I did note the snow tracks and it seems he takes the same route every day. Rabbit stew. Hmmmm.0
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Okay, I know this is a weird question, but is it safe to eat a rabbit that our cat caught? He caught a huge one today and my mom wanted to cook it, but we couldn't since the thought occurred to her a few hours after she threw it in the trash. If the next time our cat catches a rabbit, the rabbit is cleaned and cooked thoroughly, is it safe to eat it? Will any bacteria from the cat bite be killed in the cooking process?
Yeah, you can eat it. I personally wouldn't, because a cat doesn't kill clean, so that meat will probably pretty gamed up.
I'd rather put a nice hole through its head, and then eat it.0 -
Been a rabbit hunter since I was 4, never had a problem. Which means naturally, next year i will.0 -
I wouldn't worry about the cat's bite, but you might be exposing yourself to Tularemia. If you decide to eat it anyway, handle it with gloves and skin it/dress it, and get rid of the skin and guts without touching them.
It will be a bit gamey from the adrenaline dump it had during it's chase with the cat - but I bet if you cut it into pieces, put it in a crock pot with some veggies, herbs, spices, etc and left it alone on low for a few hours you would have a pretty tasty rabbit stew.0 -
what's with all the roadkill threads lately :sick:0 -
roadkill means the animal was killed on the road. Probably by a car.
This animal was slaughtered by another animal. It's natural.0 -
Wild rabbits are safe to eat. But rabbits that are killed by cats, not so much.0
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herrspoons wrote: »A domestic cat is quite capable of taking down a rabbit. Feline predation is about stealth, not flat speed - even cheetahs need to get close, as they can only sustain top speed for a short time.
No argument there.
But the animals caught still tend to be either old, sick, or stupid (and generally young). Just because the cat will instinctively target the weakest and therefore most easily caught animal. It's late enough in the year that the young and stupid ones should have been weeded out by now, unless the bunnies are still breeding in OP's region - they've stopped here.
That leaves a higher probability of old and/or sick.0 -
ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »abcmommyx3 wrote: »lol growing up we had cats that would hunt anything a cat is fully capable of taking down a rabbit. or squirrel or chipmunk
I agree. We had a declawed cat and he would regularly bring home game. He brought me two chipmunks in once during the middle of the day, both live. Luckily, the dog caught and killed them or they'd still be in the house.
This is why I don't have cats. :sick:
word (in addition to the litterbox issue)0 -
I agree, if it was freshly killed then it should be fine to cook. If the skin was still on when it was thrown in the garbage, it was likely still fine, since it should be skinned before cooking anyway.
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Well congrats on the strangest thread of the day
Sure, why not? As others have mentioned, it's not any different that hunting game. Better it gets eaten than going to waste I guess.0 -
The rabbit has been in your cat's mouth. Now read this: "Zoonotic Disease: What Can I Catch from my Cat?"
I sleep with cats but I still wouldn't eat wild animals caught by them.0 -
Been a rabbit hunter since I was 4, never had a problem. Which means naturally, next year i will.
I've heard a lot of folks around here talk about checking one particular internal organ for spots to determine if the rabbit was a carrier for tularemia, but I don't remember the specifics.
Thoughts?0 -
Stuff it in a turkey and then cook it. Should be all good to go.0
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Been a rabbit hunter since I was 4, never had a problem. Which means naturally, next year i will.
I've heard a lot of folks around here talk about checking one particular internal organ for spots to determine if the rabbit was a carrier for tularemia, but I don't remember the specifics.
Thoughts?
http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/rabbit-fever-zmaz87mazgoe.aspx#axzz3KCWXQt000 -
From the Article:In rabbits, the symptoms of tularemia include lethargy and damage to various internal organs; in humans, the primary indications are fever and the swelling of lymph nodes. Although the disease is rare these days and can readily be cured with prompt medical attention, the threat remains: grave illness and the remote possibility of death.
Country wisdom has long held—and correctly so—that rabbit fever can be avoided by not harvesting wild bunnies until after autumn's first killing frost; and even then, never handle dead or alive—an animal that behaves unnaturally. Today, that wisdom has been indirectly incorporated into law in most states, since legal rabbit-hunting seasons almost never open before late fall or early winter, and generally close before the arrival of spring.
Big info here. The issue as brought up above is that cats are excellent killers, and they know that the weakest are the best. However, they're not suicidal, and it's not unheard of for a cat to pass up a visibly sick animal to kill another.
Tularemia is rare, and the old saw is to check the liver. However, I believe that to be wholly a wive's tale.0 -
I would assume the cat bite would be a bad thing0
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I imagine you caught the rabbit the same way as if you hunted it. If your cat doesn't have any disease, why would the cat bite matter? By the way, I used to love eating rabbit as a kid. I haven't had it in years. If you were nearby, I would ask for an inviteis it safe to eat a rabbit that our cat caught? Will any bacteria from the cat bite be killed in the cooking process?
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Better question: has kitty had their rabies shot? In theory treating it like pork would probably be good enough, and in practice I'd be freakishly careful about how that meat was handled.0
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can I have the lucky foot or tail?0
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Thank you everyone for your great replies!
To clear things up: The cat is up to date on all his shots. We usually find his prey when they're still alive (not this time though) so I'm not totally worried about the possibility of him having caught a dead rabbit. If he catches another rabbit, everything will be carefully sanitized and disposable gloves will be used when preparing it.0 -
Feed it to the cat.0
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I'd grind it up and feed it to the cat, honestly.
Any "germs" from the cat's mouth will be effectively taken care of during skinning, cleaning, desanguination, and cooking.0 -
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You can eat it. You just have to take off the hat, then the mittens, then remove its slippers, unzip it's jammies all the way up.... That's how i was taught to skin one when i was really little.
Thumper stew is so yummy.0 -
If I ever buy a child, I'll use that to teach them. That's a good one.CarrieCans wrote: »You can eat it. You just have to take off the hat, then the mittens, then remove its slippers, unzip it's jammies all the way up.... That's how i was taught to skin one when i was really little.
Thumper stew is so yummy.
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Why wouldnt it be ok? Its safer to eat that rabbit then the meat you buy at the market.0
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My cat can catch and kill rabbits. And birds. She almost never gets out to demonstrate her prowess, but she's totally capable.
A few weeks back, the pool guys left the door open to the pool and I had no clue. When I got back from the store, I came into the kitchen and found a dead bird on the floor.
It is the thought that counts and I do appreciate her for trying to help me out and contributing to the household food supply, but it's just so dismaying and unnerving to find a feathered corpse in the kitchen when you weren't expecting it.
I throw her kills in the trash.
I suppose you could eat the bunny if you wanted to skin and butcher it. If you do, let us know how it goes.0 -
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LoneWolfRunner wrote: »I would have to be pretty hard up before I would think about munching a rabbit.
Why?
leaving aside the cat catching it part - why wouldnt it be ok to eat rabbit? how is it different from eating lamb, chicken etc?
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